


It's the Heart that Really Matters in the End

by littlefuzzydude



Series: Perryshmirtz Week 2019 [7]
Category: Phineas and Ferb
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, Gen, Love, M/M, POV Second Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-26 23:57:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21109307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlefuzzydude/pseuds/littlefuzzydude
Summary: The different types of love in Perry's life.Written for Perryshmirtz Week Day 7: Love





	It's the Heart that Really Matters in the End

**Author's Note:**

> I saw this prompt and instantly thought of the 8 types of love, so I wrote a little vignette for each. Enjoy!

**Ludas - Playful Love**

Somehow, at some point, your clashes with Heinz have become less heated. You don't pull your punches, no, because you wouldn't want Heinz to think you were holding out on him, but the tone of your fights has turned playful, for lack of a better word. You're no longer aiming to really stop him or hurt him — not that you ever _ actually _ wanted to hurt him. Rather, it's like you're both playing a role in a game of Good versus Evil, a game more about playing than about winning.

It's nice to be able to let loose with your fighting. You know that Heinz will match you — he's gotten better at holding his own — and you know that afterwards, if you want it, there will be tea and pleasant company waiting. It's so different than anything you could have expected when you were assigned as his nemesis. It's so much more _ fun. _

When you find yourself holding hands one day after a particularly vicious clash, it feels completely natural. You notice that Heinz's cheeks are dusted pink, and you can't help leaning up and pressing your bill to one flushed cheek in a facsimile of a kiss. The flesh under your bill heats up even more, and you pull back with a smile, feeling your face grow warm in response.

Heinz turns a little and, with a smile that is simultaneously wicked and shy, presses a kiss to the tip of your bill. The touch of his lips makes your electroreception flare in a way you've never felt before, overwhelming and oh-so-nice.

He pulls away a little, cheeks completely red. He's so cute that you can't stop yourself from dropping his hand and tackling him. You both go down, Heinz's limbs flailing, and you dodge his errant arms to bury your bill into his neck, winding your arms around his shoulders. He laughs, a happy, breathy sound, and wraps his arms around you in response.

**Storge - Parental Love**

Vanessa is curled up on the sofa when you show up at Heinz’s apartment. She barely lifts her head to look at you, and from the brief glimpse at her face, you can tell she’s been crying. Abandoning any thought of a quiet night with just you and Heinz, you hop up onto the arm of the couch and wait for Vanessa to say something. You’re good at providing silent comfort, and even if she doesn’t let you know what’s happening, you hope that your presence can help.

“Johnny broke up with me,” she says into the couch. The works are muffled and indistinct, but you still freeze at the palpable sadness filling her words. “He said I wasn’t ‘goth’ enough.”

You churr to get her to look up at you, then mime punching something with your eyebrows tilted in question. It sounds like this Johnny character wasn’t good enough for Vanessa anyway, and you’re willing to take the responsibility to show him the error of his ways before Heinz gets to him.

She laughs breathily, a much better sound than her sad voice moments earlier. “It’s fine, Perry. It probably wasn’t going to last anyway.”

You ignore the waver in her voice, and instead put your hand on her head and pet her hair a little, just like you’ve seen Linda do for Candace on the rare occasions that Candace’s breakdowns have left her crying into her mom’s shoulder. She leans into it, and the two of you sit in silence for a while.

You both know that when Heinz finds out, he will go to extremes to try to punish the boy who hurt his little girl. But for now, it’s enough to sit and let Vanessa draw the comfort she clearly needs from you.

**Mania - Obsessive Love**

Heinz throws himself into your relationship like he does all things. He doesn't interrupt your clashes, because those are their own thing, but afterwards he always has something for you. A well thought out gift, usually, accompanied by kisses and cuddles like a starving man seeking affection.

You think that comparison is fairly apt. Heinz is a lonely man, and it's unlikely that he’d been getting much physical affection at all in the past few years. Not since Vanessa grew up enough not to want hugs or kisses from her dad. And you know Heinz is a disaster when it comes to dating. You’ve been witness to a few dates, and it is very unlikely that any of his previous attempts got much farther than the first date. You’re not sure how Charlene saw past his prickly shell. You doubt it was the same way that you did.

So, though you don’t need his gifts, you accept them graciously and make sure to bring some of your own, when you can. The way Heinz’s face lights up whenever you reciprocate his generosity makes every penny spent worth it. Plus, you could never turn away any of Heinz’s affection. Cuddling with him has quickly become the highlight of your day.

**Filia - Friendly Love**

Your relationship with Peter is complicated, but you still count him among your friends. You don’t have many friends, so you aren’t willing to throw away your friendliness with the panda just because of how you met. Sure, he hurt you, but it was all Heinz’s plan, anyway, and Peter has apologized. You may feel a spike of jealousy whenever Heinz and Peter interact, but that doesn’t mean Peter isn’t your friend.

Case in point: he called _ you _ in for back-up for a tough case that he couldn’t handle alone. It could have to do with the fact that you’re both among the highest rated agents in your respective branches of OWCA, but you think it has more to do with you being you, judging from the smile he gives you when you invite him out for coffee afterwards to complain about your respective nemeses. It’s nice to have a friend to complain to about your dumb evil scientists.

**Eros - Sexual Love**

Heinz’s scheme started off without a hitch. The tea set to lure you in and make you think that it would just be a no-scheme day, the scone turning out to be a trigger to trap you in your chair, the tea-related back-story; everything worked flawlessly. You would have been impressed, but the moment he unveiled the Tea-Time-inator it started spraying thick white steam everywhere and, judging by Heinz’s panicked expression, it wasn’t supposed to do that.

Heinz’s squeaked “One _ moment, _ Perry the Platypus,” is cute enough to have you consenting to stay trapped while he attempted to fix whatever broke. So here you are, sitting with even the scones out of reach. Not that you really want to eat one after what happened with the last one you grabbed.

At least you can’t fault the view. Heinz is on his hands and knees in a way that thrusts his butt up in the air. You watch it wiggle back and forth in concentration. The tails of his lab coat swish along with his motion and you have the sudden urge to bite them. Good thing you’re trapped, or this could get embarrassing quickly.

**Philautia - Self Love**

You happily dive into the pond. A day off means no schemes, no paperwork, just a semi-aquatic mammal doing semi-aquatic things. You wouldn’t trade your job or your family for anything, no question. But sometimes you need some space, and what better to do on those days than just be a platypus.

**Pragma - Matured Love**

Even after retiring from evil Heinz still manages to insinuate himself in your life. You don’t work as much, just paperwork and the occasional one-off mission, but you find yourself away from home just as, if not more, frequently than when Heinz was your nemesis. You spend most of your time with Heinz, whether you hang out with him in his apartment or go out on the town. It’s mostly the former, as Heinz is the biggest homebody you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting, but there are rare occasions where the latter is the case.

Such as tonight. You’re going out to a nice dinner to celebrate some anniversary or other. It’s not your nemeversary or anything, so you’re not entirely sure what you’re celebrating, but it’s important to Heinz so you go along with it. It’s not like you don’t enjoy celebrating with Heinz, after all.

He even dressed up for tonight, going as far as to wear his nicest lab coat. You have your nicest fedora on, because even though Heinz has gotten better at recognizing you without it, it’s still a part of who you are when you’re with Heinz. And despite the restaurant being fancier than you would necessarily choose, you’re comfortable.

That thought shouldn’t be startling, but it is. You’re _ comfortable. _ It has nothing to do with the environment and everything to do with the man that you are with. You think you could be comfortable anywhere, as long as you’re with Heinz.

**Agape - Unconditional Love**

You love your boys. That was never in doubt. Just as the fact that they love you was never in doubt. But they love you as a pet, as a platypus who doesn’t do much except disappear every day. You love them for who they are with your whole soul and being.

The pain of them rejecting you for who and what you are is still as fresh as the day it happened, years ago, and it was just as painful to know that you would have to leave them behind for them knowing. The amnesia-inator was a boon in that you could stay with your family, who you would do anything for, but you’ve always remembered what could, and probably will, happen again when you reveal yourself to them.

Now one obstacle is out of the way: you are officially retired. You don’t need to worry about being forced to leave them if they find out. Now, all you need to worry about is them rejecting you again, and kicking you out themselves.

You squeeze Heinz’s hand to give yourself courage. Heinz, for once, doesn’t say anything, just squeezes back and smiles reassuringly. He’s already offered to invent an amnesia-inator if things go wrong, and you don’t have the heart to tell him that he already did and that you could acquire it if you needed to. It’s the thought that counts.

You take a deep breath, hold it for a moment, then release both the breath and Heinz’s hand and take a step forward, right up to the door. You ring the doorbell with a shaking paw, something you’ve never had to do before. Candace is at college, and Linda and Lawrence are on a date, so it’s just your boys home tonight, probably building something, brilliant as always now that they’re in high school.

You hear Phineas’ muffled “Coming!” from inside the house and resist the urge to drop to all fours. You feel naked without your hat, but you turned it in when you retired so you don’t even have the option to don even that protection from the world.

The door opens to Phineas’ smiling face. He looks down at you and blinks, his smile fading in surprise. “Perry?”

You smile sheepishly and wave. However tonight goes, you will still love your boys more than the earth itself. You just hope that they’ll still love you, too.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's the end of the week! I hope you enjoyed. I had a lot of fun with these fics. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Title from Little Wonders by Rob Thomas


End file.
